Thank God for Synapse Films (and for Scarecrow Video). Intruder came at the end of the 1980’s domination of the slasher movie, and was unceremoniously dumped by its original distributor, Empire International Pictures at the end of the grindhouse cycle. EIP was a distribution company ran by Charles Band, an exploitation producer who specialized in the weird and graphic. During their very short life, the EIP banner released many of today’s well regarded cult classics: Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator, the Clive Barker scripted Rawhead Rex, the absurdist masterpiece TerrorVision, David DeCoteau’s Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, the bizarro-universe Vicious Lips, and this feature.
When Intruder was released in 1989, it was featured in horror magazines for its many graphic kill scenes. The special effects team promised the film to be filled to the brim with graphic and gory deaths at every turn. But, by the time the MPAA got through with it, they had trimmed over five minutes of footage, neutering the gorehound pleasures at the heart of the film. When Paramount finally released it on VHS, they didn’t release an unrated/director’s cut (in no small part because those were still relatively unusual). And so, the film was buried for years as an unnecessary entry in a dying genre relegated to the dustbins of time.
But, Synapse Films picked up this cult oddity last year and released a remastered director’s cut of this classic, and it’s a gas. Written and Directed by Scott Spiegel (From Dusk Til Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money), Intruder is the rare slasher film with an precise three act structure. The first 30 minutes sets up the story: a young cashier (Elizabeth Cox) working the night crew at a supermarket is harassed by her ex-boyfriend just before closing. As the ex makes repeat visits, the grocery store owner reveals that the grocery store is going to close in a week. The middle half hour is a literal killfest as the killer mows through the night crew (which includes co-stars Reneé Estevez, and Sam and Ted Raimi). And, the final half hour is the end run, as the final girl goes through the supermarket of horrors and goes head to head with the serial killer.
The precise division of the three acts in Intruder calls attention to how fluid the three acts are in other slashers. Traditional slashers usually extend the middle act and let the killings come at a steady rate for the better part of an hour. Slow burn slashers extend the first act in setting up the characters and setting and then rush through the second and third acts. The end run is rarely extended because the audience is usually ready for the climax by the time there’s only one victim left.
Intruder illustrates the importance of adjusting that balance as needed. The first act and third act feel extended and a little repetitive. The middle act, however, is a gnarly explosion of good old fashions practical effect kill scenes offing the mostly male cast with enthusiasm and a delightful sense of humor. And, besides that, it’s one of the few slashers that is completely obsessed with delivering good old fashioned violence and not on objectifying the few female characters in the cast (there isn’t any sex or nudity!).
If it weren’t for the little card at Scarecrow Video recommending the film as a rarity nobody has seen, I probably wouldn’t have picked this one up. With the remastered director’s cut, the film looks better than it probably had any right to look when it was first released (Spiegel’s use of light and shadows is fascinating), and the fun in watching people get sliced and diced has been restored to its maximal power. This isn’t Shakespeare, but it is good old fashioned slasher fun.